Member for MacKillop takes aim at Greens and Lock the Gate movement

By Kate Hill

Member for MacKillop Mitch Williams today defended his decision to oppose an inquiry to investigate the effects of unconventional gas mining, saying it would threaten the future of oil and gas exploration in the South East.

Last week, the state Liberal Party voted with the Government against holding a Parliamentary Inquiry into unconventional gas processes with a vote of 5 to 1.

Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell told ABC South East's Morning Show that he was pushing hard for an inquiry into fracking, but wanted the terms of reference to be more localised.

"I'm pushing very hard for an inquiry into fracking," he said.

"But I do have issues with Mark Parnell's proposal, it's very broad."

"I want to be very specific about the terms of the inquiry and that it's based on the South East."

Greens MLC Mark Parnell described the decision 'as a slap in the face for the South East' and a betrayal by Liberal candidates suggesting the party had broken a pre-election promise.

Speaking on ABC South East's Morning Show, Mr Williams said the inquiry that Mark Parnell proposed was simply promoting the Greens agenda and not to do with protecting the South East region.

"This inquiry is about propagating the Greens agenda which is basically stop the mining of fossil fuels per se and basically stop mining and any sort of industrial activity across the face of the planet," he said.

The Member for MacKillop said his decision was based on Mark Parnell's terms of reference, which he believed would not address concerns raised to him by South East landholders.

"The concerns in the South East are all to do with groundwater - their primary concern is 'is there a risk to groundwater'?" he said.

"That's the inquiry that Troy Bell and myself and other people in the Liberal party are wanting to have - to get the real answers to that question."

He also took aim at anti-Coal Seam Gas group Lock the Gate Alliance, saying they were just 'frightening people'.

Mr Williams said he had attended a number of community forums and had asked for strong evidence from such groups of groundwater systems being destroyed as a result of mining activities.

"I am still waiting for someone to come to me and say 'look here is a situation where a groundwater system was adversely affected or destroyed by this industry and that's proof that the industry shouldn't work here'," he said.

He said such groups were responsible for a 'flood of misinformation' out there in the public and as a landholder, he was personally satisfied that the South East region's groundwater system was not at threat.

"We've been drilling holes in the ground for damn near 100 years, exploring for oil and gas - there's been no recorded adverse impacts," he said.

He also said there had been no adverse effects from the gas industry players in the South East who had been drilling wells for over 30 years.

But he said the process of fracking did warrant further investigation, saying it was a new technology for the area.

"Some people have some concerns and I would love to see an inquiry specific to that and any potential impacts on our groundwater system," he said.

"I feel very confident that such an inquiry would come out and give tick to this technology, because it is a technology that has quite a good track record, to be frank."

He accused the Greens of having a 'modus operandi' of sowing the seeds of doubt.

"You can't guarantee anything 100 per cent, we all know that," he said.

Mr Williams said Mr Parnell's proposal would 'threaten both conventional and unconventional exploration right across South Australia'.

"We have a very important oil and gas industry in SA which is very important for the state's economy, but more importantly it's very important as our major source of energy in this state and without it we would be in diabolic trouble," he said.

Mr Williams said both he and Mr Bell were working behind the scenes to get an appropriate inquiry which was specific to the South East.

"I'm more than happy to have an inquiry regarding this question and that is the question of the security of our groundwater in the South East."